Daily News Digest – April 5, 2018

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1. The Bentley investigation is over.

Like that troubled relationship you knew just wasn’t right, the Bentley investigation is finally over.

Supernumerary District Attorney Ellen Brooks – who was called out of retirement to take over the investigation – announced that the Special Grand Jury empaneled to investigate the former governor and others has been dissolved after its members determined no other charges were warranted beyond those to which Bentley already pleaded guilty.

Investigators couldn’t prove that Bentley himself ever profited personally from all his questionable conduct;

Others might have profited, but “they” (read: Rebekah Mason) were not covered by the ethics law at the time because “they” (a.) weren’t married to Bentley, and (b.) were no longer a state employee;

There is some pretty questionable activity that the grand jury and prosecutors say is not prohibited by Alabama’s ethics laws (the Governor directing law enforcement to harass people, lobbyists or employees on loan to the Governor’s office).

The Politics

The Bentley saga is still a potent political weapon in state politics. It’s probably most relevant in the Attorney General race, where challengers have tried to make Bentley’s appointment of incumbent AG Steve Marshall an issue.

Former AG Troy King said yesterday that “justice had been lost at the hands of Steve Marshall.”

I asked Brooks, whom Marshall appointed to direct the investigation after he recused, about the criticism yesterday.

“I’m used to getting criticism from people who say I’m too tough and from people who say I’m not tough enough,” she said. “I cannot go outside the law and I cannot make up evidence.”

Pick’em odds on whether this intensifies the weaponizing of Bentley or puts it to bed.

What’s Next

I would expect the grand jury’s recommendations to make their way into the ethics code update that lawmakers are expected to tackle next term. (I’m not convinced some of it isn’t in there already, btw.).

As Kim Chandler noted in the press conference, one example of a grand jury recommendation later becoming law is the PAC-to-PAC transfer ban.

If you’re wondering who the winners and losers would be economically if these tariffs go through, check out this story.

Also, in the department of irony, Axios reports that the tariffs might actually help Democratic candidates in the November elections.

4. More about that YouTube shooter.

Yesterday it was reported that the YouTube headquarters shooting was being investigated as resulting from a domestic dispute.

Turns out, that’s not really whats going on (Thank you to keen-eyed Daily News readers for pointing this out!).

38-year-old Nasim Aghdam was an animal rights activist and would-be YouTube personality. She posted a bunch of pretty weird videos and got angry when YouTube changed its policies to make it more difficult for users to monetize their content.

She was obviously mentally unstable, as well.

The shooter’s father called the police to warn them that Aghdam was in the area and could be targeting the video company.

5. News briefs.

Tuesday’s storms did significant damage in North Alabama. More than 80 homes were damaged in Decatur, reports the Decatur Daily. Only one injury reported. More storms are expected to roll through Friday night and Saturday morning.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will testify on Capitol Hill next week. How Congress is going to handle the Facebook fiasco is a good question. Will it become all about Russia and fake news? Will there be a serious proposal about consumer protection? Facebook isn’t coming empty handed. It has been beefing up its lobbying arm recently, including veterans from the Obama Administration, the Bush Administration, and Sandy Luff, who Alabamians will remember from her time as Jeff Sessions’ Legislative Director. Read more HERE.

The Trump Administration is taking a tougher line on Russia. New sanctions announced Wednesday will target oligarchs with ties to Vladamir Putin. Outgoing National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster says we haven’t been tough enough on Russia, but President Trump says nobody has been tougher on Russia than he has. Read more in The Washington Post.